GTS Blog

In our technology driven world, consumers are pushing for digital. The way organizations produce a product or service and the way consumers gather their research has dramatically shifted from personalized services to a more ‘convenient’ technology based business model.

As technology evolves, the pressure continues to rise and many organizations are quickly jumping on the digitally-driven bandwagon. As a result, they are pulling back on customer service, allowing the customer to drive their own buyer’s journey. Consumers prefer to shop comfortably and independently from their laptops and devices, preventing your team from directly interacting with them. This lack of interaction with a client can result in unanswered questions and reduce the overall value they could have received from your team. There are many aspects of an organization that never reach the customer such as, customer service, customized solutions, and sometimes culture, due to the computer gap.

The shift has lead organizations lose sight of personalized service, forcing their customers to rely on the technology to resolve their issues and questions. Likewise, they can lose out on a great deal of support. When things go wrong, who is there to help the customer find a customized solution that is within scope of their business?

Organizations that remain service-based, are able to provide greater value to their clients. They are more focused on personally solving your specific need with a solution that is aligned with your business objectives. Similarly, the client is able to fully engage in the organizations’ industry experience and knowledge, adding to their overall value they receive. In addition, service based models ensure each clients are finding the best solution to fit their needs. This type of value can only be added though direct engagement with the customer.

At the end of the day, can you ensure that each client received the highest level of service possible?

Technology, is a necessary evil that must be adapted to the needs of both the business and consumer. While it does help organizations become ‘leaner’, it lacks in providing the acceptable level of service many consumers still expect from a company. At this point, digitally-driven models act simply as tools, not resources for your clients. When partnering with a service-focused organization, you gain a trusted relationship, industry knowledge and experience, without disrupting the quality of service.

Today’s consumer is not only educated, but has unlimited options at their fingertips at any given time. Quick and simple solutions that are customized specifically to their needs are key and must come at the lowest cost or they take their business elsewhere. Many industries are feeling the impact of the evolving customer demands, including logistics. The term 3pl is now broadly used to describe a firm that provides outsourced logistics services, but not all 3PLs are equal. Vendors will vary in terms of reliability, speed, innovation, pricing, and scale of impact. A 3pl can range from a software solution to a complete supply chain management team with resources housed on-site at a client. In order to create a client relationship with long-term value to clients a 3pl will need to prove their impact goes beyond “cheap rates”. It is important to partner with a 3PL that is not only has similar goals and culture as your organization, but also has 3 key differentiators that will ensure you are getting the best in service and price.